we'll return (when we drift apart)
by descencus
Summary: "growing apart doesn't change the fact that for a long time we grew side by side," she reassured him, a small smile evident in her voice. "our roots will always be tangled. i'm glad for that." he stared at her, eyes wet and lips quivering. "so," he choked, "let's keep walking until we cross paths again, yeah?" / alternatively; where Natsu wasn't the only person Igneel left behind.
1. Prologue

A strong gust of wind rustled the canopy of foliage above her. It brought with it the chill of the night and season, which sunk into her bones and left her trembling like the leaves. Growing up in constant heat left her body extremely susceptible to the colder temperatures of this side of Fiore, it seemed. Granted, at this time of year it was always chilly whether day or night and in her younger years she was just privileged with continuous access to a source- or two- of heat, so the location had little to do with it, she supposed. Regardless of the reason, the fact remained that she was very, _very _cold. No matter how many times she wrapped herself in the blankets her guardians supplied, the bite of the onset of winter still ripped through her layers and dug its fangs into her tender skin.

She had always been on the weaker side, due to the environment she was born into (which she knew little to nothing about- her guardians were not very forthcoming with information when it came to her roots) and then her less than pleasant separation from her first home only added to the fragility of her body. Although fragile, however, she was not what one would call petite. Dainty, yes, agile, yes, but not petite. Her well endowed bosom and rear would beg to differ.

Well, her rear would beg to differ if it wasn't currently half-frozen.

Her breath hitched slightly and her nose itched. "Ack!" she sneezed, then shivered. Why couldn't have her guardians allowed her to leave _after _winter? At this rate she would die of hypothermia before she found any of their keys. Miserably she huddled closer to the rough bark of the tree under whose roots her belongings were stored. A distant rumble of thunder sounded through the still night, and in response she closed her eyes before inhaling a lungful of crisp air and releasing it in a controlled and frustrated sigh. Of course, things would never be easy for her.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she surged forward. "_La vache!" _she exclaimed. By the stars, she was stupid. Hurriedly she tugged her bag from out under the tree roots and practically tore it open. She dug around until her fingers met scaly (_warm_) fabric. Immediately a wide smile lifted the corners of her lips and her body relaxed. She gently pulled the item out of her bag and reverently caressed the white and black scarf she had received from her first guardian, shortly before he left. Having it in her hands, feeling his magic even 7 years later…. It was almost like she was snuggled up next to his large forelegs and absorbing his body heat. A memory of red scales, clear skies and pink hair (no- _salmon, _she smiled) made her close her suddenly wet eyes once again, and this time the sigh she released was happy.

She had actually been wearing it ever since she crossed into Earthland a month prior, but people looked at her strangely when she walked about her day. They stared at her scarf with curious and confused expressions. Which she didn't understand, wasn't it normal for humans to wear scarves at this time of year? One woman even asked her if she was 'the salamander's lover.' What did _that _mean? How could she be an amphibian's lover?

The constant scrutiny made her uncomfortable- she still wasn't used to seeing so many people after living all her life only interacting with a limited few- so she opted to only wear it when she was alone. She had just been so deep in her own misery that common sense seemed to escape her.

For a short moment she sat on the damp earth basking in nostalgia, but another gust of cold _cold _wind reminded her why she removed the scarf from her bag in the first place.

She blinked away her tears, peeled the layers of blankets off her body and wrapped the scarf snuggly around her neck. Now she didn't need any blankets at all. The scales of the Fire Dragon would be enough to keep her warm for the night.

* * *

**Hello everyone. This is an idea I've been toying around with for years now and I finally decided to woman up and start writing it. This will be sort of a retelling of Fairy Tail, with three major universe alterations:**

**1\. Lucy is raised by Igneel with Natsu.**

**2\. Lisanna doesn't go to Edolas because it doesn't exist. However, she is alive.**

**3\. Sabertooth exists before the time skip. To be honest, if I manage to reach that part of the anime, I doubt I'll be doing the time skip.**

**The characters may be OOC, but that's because I'll be morphing their characters to better suit the au. I'll try as much as possible to not change them too much. However, Natsu is definitely going to be different: reclusive, aloof, and more animalistic. All the dragon slayers will be more draconic than they are in the anime. And Lucy's personality as well, obviously, since she has a different background: more naive, more minimalistic, and more impulsive.**

**As for pairings, they will be your regular, standard Fairy Tail fanfiction pairings. This story is more about the ****concept of family so while there will be romance, it will not be the central theme.**

**I don't have the best track record of staying committed to projects that I start, so I won't chain myself down to a schedule that won't work for me. I'll update once every two weeks on Saturday evenings between the hours of 6-9 pm, because I'm starting university and I have a job and a life so ;} **

**If you read to the end of this AN, I applaud you! **

**Also, reviews would be really appreciated. I know, ew, but hear me out: it means a lot to an author to receive feedback, whether it's praise or constructive criticism, and it motivates them to write more and write better if they know that there are people that enjoy their work. So please keep that in mind!**

**Okay** **I think that's it. Advice of the day: you are not required to set yourself on fire to keep others warm. Have a lovely week babies!**


	2. Chaper 1: The Needle Spins Violently

In a rare moment of vulnerability, Natsu had once revealed to her why he carried around the compass. It was an old and damaged thing; the glass was cracked and the edges were slightly bent in places, and it was also obviously not from Fiore, as there were strange symbols where the cardinal points were supposed to be, possibly letters of another language. Even Levy couldn't place it, but whenever she asked Natsu where he found it, he would clam up and stalk away. But he had told her and Carla once, on one of the missions he took with her every once in a while. For some reason she was the only person beside Happy that Natsu took missions with. She didn't quite understand it herself; he clearly knew everyone else at Fairy Tail much longer (with the exception of Gajeel and Juvia, who had joined only a short while before her, she was told) and him being S-Class meant that the missions he took with her were well below his pay grade, but he never complained.

"_A friend left it behind," _he had said. "_To you it may seem like just a weird scrap of metal, but to me it means just as much to me as my scarf." _That had been what sent it home to her. Unfortunately she hadn't been as lucky as Natsu to have a physical memento of her estranged parent, and as such envied that he had his scarf. If she had something like that, something from Grandeeney other than memories and magic…. it would be her most precious possession. There wasn't a person alive in Fiore who didn't know how much Natsu's scarf meant to him. Numerous articles had been made (because, no matter how much he hated it, he was still a celebrity- all of Fiore either loved him due to his strength, valour and heroism, or hated him because he tended to unintentionally cause destruction just as much as he saved lives) about the 'article of clothing', speculations of its origin ranging from right on the money to absolutely ludicrous, but what they all held in common was that he never removed it and it was important to him.

So for him to equate what she once considered to be "just a weird scrap of metal" to his only physical tie to his father, well, Wendy respected it.

But that didn't mean she couldn't have doubts.

Which was exactly what she was experiencing right now.

"Look, I know how much that compass means to you, but don't you think you're putting too much trust into it? We don't even know if the needle is pointing to north-"

Natsu interrupted Carla with a snippy tone. "It's pointing north."

Wendy, Natsu, Happy and Carla had teamed up to take down a _rogue_ group of bandits who specialized in night theft due to their _shadow magic_ (Wendy, quite childishly, found the irony highly amusing). The mission had been in Crocus. At first they were confused as to why the client had requested them specifically, as there was a guild in Crocus and it would have been more convenient if the mission had been posted to them. But after meeting with him, they learnt that among the things stolen was his daughter's favourite necklace: one she had been gifted by her late mother. And she wanted no one other than her favourite heroes to retrieve it for her. They quite easily finished the mission, collected their reward and had taken to walking around Crocus (re: Wendy wanted to sightsee and Natsu couldn't resist her pouty face) when Natsu's compass glowed hotly in his pocket. He felt more than saw the strange reaction and then took it out in his palm. The needle began spinning violently until it settled confidently on the character in the middle center of the top semicircle. And that brought them to their current predicament of whether to follow where it was leading or not.

Carla just huffed and crossed her arms. Even Happy looked a bit unsure. "Natsu, are you sure? We don't know what language it's in…. For all we know it could be saying 'fish'-"

"Yes I'm sure it's pointing north so that's where I'm going, with or without you." With that, he spun on his heel and walked off (more like stomped off) toward whatever the compass was leading him to. Which was in the direction of….

Wendy sighed. "C'mon guys, let's at least go make sure he doesn't start any trouble." With a grumble from Carla and an "aye sir!" from Happy, they rushed to catch up with Natsu. Just what could be in the Sabertooth guild hall?

* * *

As it turned out, a lot.

Natsu pushed open the guild doors. What they revealed was not what Wendy was expecting to see.

It had been almost a year since Fairy Tail won the Grand Magic Games, and six months since the cruel Master Jiemma had been defeated once and for all. Wendy had expected to see the members of Sabertooth in high spirits: drinking, laughing, fighting (perhaps that last one may have been unique to only Fairy Tail). She had expected Sting, with his heightened sense of smell, to notice their arrival right away and greet them with a wide smile and open arms, Yukino, Rogue and the exceeds not far behind.

Instead the quartet of fairies were met with weary eyes and rising ethernano levels in the air. Though almost as quickly as they rose, they fell. Still, the tension was palpable. They had entered the tigers' den. Wendy frowned. Hadn't they changed under Sting's management? Hadn't they made amends with Fairy Tail? She knew some of her guild members still held a slight grudge against them because of what Minerva did to Lisanna during the games, but with their forgiving nature it would melt away soon. In any case, Fairy Tail's animosity would be justified. So why then were _they_ the ones greeted with hostility?

They must have stood there for an awkward amount of time just staring at each other (why wasn't Natsu _saying_ anything) before someone coughed, _'low, not forceful; about 4 to 5 feet from current position; inside and to the left; likely done to break the silence,' _and the tigers' attention returned to whatever they were previously doing. The murmur of quiet conversation filled the room. A tall man wearing aristocratic red clothing and a gold rimmed red mask under a feathered red hat approached them, his long blonde hair pulled back into a low braid. Rufus Lore. Wendy _remembered_ him (oh the puns!).

"Fairy Tail," he tipped his hat. "To what do we owe the pleasure?" His tone was polite but his smile was strained. "Please, come in."

* * *

After being directed up the stairs (thankfully no one's eyes were focused on them anymore) and to what Wendy was pretty sure was the master's office (solely because it looked like an office and there were piles of likely unfinished paperwork on the large desk close to the wall of bookcases- and the room reeked of Sting, seriously, did he sleep in here every night for the last six months?), they were seated before the master's table and offered refreshments. "Oh, thank you but–" "Do you have fish?" Happy purred, eyes bright and hopeful. She could almost hear Carla roll her eyes. The blue exceed's inability to read a room was... funny, to say the least.

Rufus Lore's smile twitched the slightest bit, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. He stepped behind the desk, opened something (a minifridge? Wendy detected a very minute change in the temperature of the air below the desk) and pulled out a... whole fish? "Master Sting always keeps some extra for Lector; I'm sure he won't mind." Happy accepted the fish with a loud thank you (the smell made Wendy's nose twitch) and gracelessly began munching. A quick glance at Carla showed her to be mildly disgusted. Wendy wondered how much of it was real and how much was to distract Happy from catching on to her being fond of him.

"Why isn't Sting here?" Natsu's gruff and sudden inquiry would have startled the young healer if she hadn't heard the air pass through his mouth before he began speaking. It sounded more like a statement to be honest, because his voice lacked intonation, but she knew he was asking a question. He simply didn't have the hang of the Fiorean language like the natives. She knew, because she was the same. Sometimes she would speak and no one would understand, or vice versa (but Natsu and Gajeel always did. They always understood).

People didn't always have the best reactions to the way the spoke Fiorean, especially people of a high social class like Rufus Lore. Sometimes they misinterpreted it as rudeness, but it simply wasn't true.

If Rufus Lore was among that population, he didn't show it. "Master Sting was... attacked... this morning." It sounded as if it pained him to utter those words. Wendy's hand flew to cover her mouth in horror. That must have been why the guild was so tense.

"How bad are his injuries?" _'And what can I do to help?' _was unsaid, but she was sure Rufus Lore understood. "He hasn't yet awoken; he lost a significant amount of blood but the doctors said he will be just fine. Adding into account his accelerated healing due to his draconic nature, he should wake up in an hour or two."

"Doctor?" Natsu grunted. "Not a healer?" Rufus Lore pursed his lips. "Briar Rose Hospital was the closest medical aid he was able to receive, and I was told he was assaulted with nonmagical weapons, if my memory serves me correctly."

Weapons? So there was more than one attacker. And Briar Rose Hospital was a civilian medical and emergency centre just outside the heart of Crocus, which meant that the attack must've happened in one of the villages close by. "There is more, isn't there? What else happened?"

Wendy turned to Carla. She was frowning deeply, but there was something else in her eyes, something she couldn't discern from sight alone. She raised her nose in the air and sniffed. Was that... fear? Carla noticed her and glared, causing Wendy to look sheepish. The white exceed detested when the sky maiden used her smell to decipher what she was feeling.

Rufus Lore removed his hat and took a seat in Sting's chair (_wait, he was standing this whole time?_). He clasped his gloved hands together before answering. "It's Lady Yukino." Happy gasped. "Don't tell me she was with Sting," he squeaked. He liked Yukino; apparently she gave him a fish once. Rufus Lore's silence was all the confirmation they needed.

"Was she hurt too?" Natsu's voice was uncharacteristically soft. Wendy glanced at him, and saw that his face was pinched in a sour expression. He, too, liked Yukino; apparently she reminded him of an old friend of his. Wendy wondered if it was the same friend who gave him the compass.

"We don't know." Carla's eyebrow quirked at Rufus Lore's response. "What do you mean _you don't know_? How do you _not_–"

"We don't know," he interrupted, "because we cannot locate her."

An abrupt silence blanketed the room.

He unclasped his hands and leaned back into the chair with a heavy sigh, and suddenly Wendy didn't see Rufus Lore. She saw, instead, a boy worried about someone he loved, his shoulders sagged down by the weight of uncertainty. It was _familiar_ to her, because she saw it every time she looked at Natsu. "As of now, Yukino Augria has gone missing," the boy said.

"She's gone."


End file.
